Analysis of the Number and Content of X-ray Examinations in the Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology Department of Tokushima University Hospital over the Past 10 Years

• Published in: Shika Hoshasen Vol. 63; no. 1; pp. 25 - 34
• Main Authors: Suito, Hideki, Hosoki, Hidehiko, Kasai, Ryosuke, Kume, Yoshio, Yoshihara, Hozumi, Yoshida, Midori, Maeda, Naoki, Honda, Eiichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology 2023
• Subjects: COVID-19; digitization; medical-dental cooperation; radiology
• ISSN: 0389-9705; 2185-6311
• DOI: 10.11242/dentalradiology.63.25

Tokushima University Hospital has undergone many changes in recent years. In order to assess these changes, we extracted the number of patients who visited and underwent X-ray imaging examinations at the Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology department over the 10-year period from April 2012 to March 2022 from patient data obtained from the Hospital Information System and the Radiology Information System. The number of dental radiographs decreased, whereas the number of panoramic radiographs increased due to the improvement of image quality. The number of patients seen in the dental department decreased in 2021 due to the impact of restrictions on hospital visits because of the spread of the new coronavirus （COVID-19）. As of 2022, the number of patients and the number of X-rays taken have not yet returned to the level before the spread of COVID-19. The number of requests for panoramic radiographs of patients before surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy increased due to the increase in referrals from medical departments to dental departments for preoperative intraoral screening as a result of the progress of multidisciplinary cooperation in the hospital. As dental radiology is a department that does not perform primary care, our findings suggest that it is affected by the social environment and healthcare system factors such as public insurance reimbursement.